After that night
by Midnight Kyuubi
Summary: Sequel to And Orihime never...blah: Renji was ninety-five, if not one hundred percent sure that after that fateful night of Inoue’s party, Ichigo had been avoiding him. RenjiIchigoRenji. Semi-Au. Rated for smut, language, and some violence...
1. Avoidance

Chapter one: Avoidance

**A** Renji X Ichigo story

**M **for **M**an, RenjiIchigo is hawt!

**S**et: I guess ya could say…um…after the Soul Society/Rukia retrieval arc, in some weird ass way. I watched a few Bount arc episodes though. (Heh, episode 60-something or so had me in hysterics when Ichigo tried to make Renji take off his gigai. That episode had me screaming 'Boy Love!'…in front of my little sister!) So, yeah and blend that up with a little of the Arrancar arc, and ya got my freaky little AU-ish setting.

**D**isclaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of its characters, but damn it, I would chew off my left foot and shave my head for just one go at Renji! All those tattoos, yummy washboard abs and silky hair!! Whooo!!

**B**y: Midnight Kyuubi

**N**ote: This is my second RenjiIchigo fanfic, so I hope ya enjoy. It's a sequel duh, multi-chaptered 'cause surprisingly, you guys liked it…Ugh, this was kinda hard 'cause I've been so tired lately with school shit—and it hasn't even started yet…Well, you read, and I'm a' go and take a nap…yawn…

**After that night**

_(also known as: And the Kurosaki sisters never slept right again)_

**C**hapter one: Avoidance

**R**enji was ninety-five, if not one hundred percent sure that after that fateful night of Inoue's party, Ichigo had been avoiding him.

He hadn't spoken to, or saw the loud, surly orange head for almost three days if that was evidence enough.

There had been several thoughts running through his head after he'd gotten his ass handed to him, and sadly, regret wasn't among them. He didn't, and still wouldn't even put the unnecessary notions of _remorse_, or something stupid like that in his mind, but he had to admit—

—He had probably come on a little bit _too_ strongly…

Renji had gone to Orihime's apartment with pretty good intentions in the beginning. It wasn't entirely his idea, but after many threats from Rukia, Renji realized it was probably going to be in his best interests to go and help, if he wanted his hair or balls.

What he hadn't anticipated, was that he was going to be alone with one certain substitute shinigami.

He was pissed off at first. He already knew that when those initial feelings of more than platonic affections appeared for Ichigo, it would be hard to control himself around the scowling teen. It was a situation Renji had silently fought valiantly against the moment he was assigned to Karakura Town.

The problem was, restraint was _always _an obstacle he had to conquer, so who knew how long Renji could stop himself from jumping Ichigo _alone_.

It became evident that it wasn't very long.

After his quick shower to get that cake crap off, he felt the atmosphere get slightly charged, and Ichigo's always chaotic reiatsu fill the room with tense energy. It had caught Renji's attention and he ran with it until he noticed his careful control had slipped.

Every blush and hardly surreptitious glance Ichigo threw his way emboldened him. That fact that Renji may have been too forward didn't occur until Ichigo was shuddering, throbbing in his slick grasp.

Renji wanted to say the whole thing was Ichigo's fault—the boy had enticed him so much it should have been illegal—but he wasn't that stupid. _He_ was older, much _older_, and _he_ should have been able to rein his desire in.

Ichigo was younger, and it bothered him at first. Unfortunately, the more time he spent with the shinigami teenager, that attraction grew. Ichigo didn't act his age most of the time anyway—who would when you more or less, had the fate of two worlds placed on your shoulders. There was just something about Ichigo's eyes that screamed intelligence beyond his years.

As an unnecessary perk, the boy also oozed an undeniable sexiness even if he was to dense and naïve to know. Seriously, Renji hadn't met a fifteen year old with the type of body Ichigo was flaunting.

All that aside, any shinigami was considered an adult, contrary to human standard, so eventually; Renji put thoughts of 'cradle robbing' out of mind. Ichigo didn't reject him outright, so that meant there was still a chance for Renji.

The only thing Renji was half-way concerned about was the fast pace his advances had taken. He just hoped Ichigo wouldn't feel sexually harassed or anything.

Going back wasn't an option, but he was going to try and preserve their solid partnership. Just doing that wasn't going to be enough, though. He'd had a taste of the force that was Ichigo, and wanted more.

The ice was broken. Now all Ichigo needed was a little_ extra_ persuading…

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

Yuzu frowned as she dried her damp hands on her apron. It was common knowledge that the Kurosakis were far from normal with all of their supernatural abilities to sense ghosts, but even _she_ had to admit—her older brother was the weirdest.

It started a little while after his fifteenth birthday. He was sensing and seeing ghosts more often, and his attitude had gotten steadily worse. Only a few months after that, Ichigo started disappearing hours at a time, and she'd kept it to herself, but often heard him talking to himself at night.

Ichigo'd reached his strangest last summer, and Yuzu knew something was up. Karin told her to stop worrying, and her father said it was just teenage hormones, and 'his baby boy was finally becoming a man. Masaki would be _soooo_ proud'. She let it go, but this time, she wouldn't.

'_This is just getting ridiculous…'_

"Karin-chan, Ichi-nii is still on the sofa! It's been going on three days now, and he hasn't moved yet."

Her raven haired sister boredly walked in with a scowl etched on her face. Headphones were around her neck, blasting music, and it was obvious she had been busy.

"What?"

"You're going to go deaf with your music that loud." Yuzu warned.

Karin shrugged. "So?"

The auburn haired girl rolled her eyes. '_Karin-chan is so much like Ichi-nii, it's scary.'_

"What?!" Karin growled through clenched teeth.

"Oh yeah, Ichi-nii is _still_ there. He hasn't moved, and he's eating up all of the snacks."

"O-kay, Ichi-nii's a fat ass. He eats all the food anyways." Karin reminded helpfully. They had always teased Ichigo about how much he ate, food seeming to just melt off of his lean frame.

"He eats bottles of chocolate syrup, for god's sake."

"I know, but it's bad, Karin-chan." Yuzu sighed, wringing her hand on her apron.

"Calm down, you're probably over-reacting." Karin slipped her earphones back on, and turned to go. Yuzu grabbed her shirt from the back.

"I'm _not_. I'm telling you. He's watching Al Pacino movies. He's watching Scarface right now, and he's doing the voices, Karin, all of them, women, too. Don't tell me I'm exaggerating, Ichigo's gone off the deep end."

Karin frowned, and pulled her phones off. "That is bad, huh? Dad's in the clinic now, so we can't tell him. Let's go see for ourselves."

The girls went into the front room, and cautiously looked over the sofa. What they saw made Karin sweat drop.

Ichigo was buried in the cushions, head propped on the arm of the couch. His skin was a bit pale, and dark circles surrounded his eyes. A spoon stuck lopsidedly out of frowning lips, and he was wearing a t-shirt and bowers—from three nights ago.

'_Ew…_' Karin thought in distaste.

His orange hair had officially reached disarray of an entirely different level. All together, Ichigo looked like crap.

"Say hello to my little friend!" He yelled angrily at the television.

"See," Yuzu pointed out, worried eyes fixed on her big brother. "I told you so."

"You wanna fuck with me?! Huh?! Take this!"

Karin cringed, and probably would have laughed, if Ichigo wasn't disturbing the hell out of her. She crossed the room grabbing the remote. The television clicked, and annoyed light brown eyes snapped to her.

"What the hell was that for? Turn it back on."

"No, break's up, lazy-ass. Did you even go to school today?"

"I didn't feel up to it—hey!" His hands flailed to grab the covers that were being torn away. "Lemme alone!"

"No." Karin balled up the stolen sheets to toss to Yuzu. She flinched, nose scrunching up at the smell.

"Yuck, Ichi-nii! I just washed these sheets…"

"So?! Go away!" He growled, kicking at the small hands around his ankles. Karin snarled, and yanked harder. "Wash 'em again."

"What is your problem?" Karin yelled between tugs. How 'bout you wash yourself? You stink!"

"How 'bout you leave me alone?"

Karin suddenly let go of his feet, force sending her flying on her bottom. A light of realization shined across her face soon after.

"Fine, you won't get up, I'll make you get up." She hopped up and sprinted to the kitchen.

"Karin-chan…?"

Ichigo huffed, pulling his legs up under him. He didn't _stink_; he just didn't smell all that great at the moment. That's all…

He was jolted out of his internal mutterings, when a bucket of cold water drenched his body.

"Argh!!"

"Get up, jerk-face!"

Ichigo's face was an outraged mixture of red and purple as he gasped up at Karin, pail still in her hands.

"Y-You…you…you…"

"Karin, Ichi-nii is gonna—"

"—kill you!" The substitute shinigami dove at his sister, and she dodged, circling around the sofa.

"Can't catch me, slowpoke." She taunted. Ichigo snarled, the uncomfortable feeling of his t-shirt sticking to his body, angering him even more.

He darted again, and Karin took off, scrambling down the hall. Before Ichigo could run after her, his foot caught a discarded bag of chips, and he flopped forward, nose-diving to the floor.

"_Argh!!_"

Yuzu stared in disbelief, then snorted as she tried to muffle her giggles. Indignant brown colored orbs burned into hers.

"Stuff it, you evil brat."

He got up stiffly, and stomped up to his room. The door slammed loudly seconds after. Not even two minutes later, Karin stuck her head out of the room.

"He gone?"

Yuzu sighed, and began picking up Ichigo's trash left on the floor.

"Yeah. You know, you didn't have to throw water on him. I'm gonna have to clean all of this up…"

Karin rolled her eyes, going to open up the curtains. A chilly breeze swept in, rustling their hair and the papers around them.

"That'll help. It's not my fault Ichi-nii wouldn't get up. Need any help?"

The loud ringing of the doorbell drowned out any answers Yuzu had. The sisters exchanged curious glances.

Karin swung the door open, with Yuzu not far behind. Her eyes widened, hitting vivid red hair and wild dark tattoos. The tall stranger looked down at her, and a grin spread slowly across his tanned features.

"Are ya Ichigo's sister?"

The raven haired girl crossed her arms, meeting his open friendly gaze with a glower.

"What's it to you?"

Renji chuckled to himself. '_Yeah, definitely Ichigo's sister, cute like 'im, too.'_

Yuzu pushed Karin to the side, smacking her on the back of the head. "Yes, he's upstairs. Would you like to come in?" She asked, blushing slightly. _'Ichi-nii has cute friends…_'

Renji grinned even wider as the girls let him in, although Karin made a face at him as he slipped of his shoes. He returned it, and she smirked, sliding headphones up on her ears.

This was going to be easier than he thought…

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

Ichigo snapped the steamy shower off, and stepped out, shivering at the air that hit his heated flesh. He wrapped a towel around his waist, grabbing as extra to cover his dripping hair.

A scowl deepened his features, as he stared himself down in the misty mirror. With a puff, he swept his hands across the surface, and his eyes traveled down to his neck, studying the faint bruise resting on his collarbone.

'_Three fuckin' days, and it's still there.' _He thought angrily, fingering the marked space. In the privacy of his bathroom, Ichigo let a pink flush tint his face, remembering the sharp teeth and slick tongue that bit and licked him to the point of bruising.

"Stupid perverted pineapple-headed shinigami bastard." He mumbled.

As plain as anything, it was clear that Ichigo was still pissed off. What wasn't crystal was that Ichigo didn't know if he was more pissed with himself or...or—

"That _man_." Ichigo growled, snatching his toothbrush up and wetting it. He squeezed a streak of blue paste on the brush, shoving it into his mouth and scrubbing roughly.

He still couldn't believe how he'd gone so far as to forget just who _he _was. He was Ichigo Kurosaki, a shinigami, not the panting, stuttering fool _that man_ had made him into. No matter how good _that man_ had made him feel, that was one fact he should never forget. No matter how_ good _it felt.

Ichigo snarled, and rubbed even harder, trying to tear those rebellious thoughts away. He winced soon after, feeling the cut his merciless cleaning had left on his gums. He spat, watching red tinged foam swirl down.

What _really _annoyed Ichigo was that he couldn't even face _that man _anymore. Hiding had been easy on the weekend, but when Monday came, all he could think of was seeing that grin, supple pink lips over white teeth, and those heavy lidded crimson eyes, shining with amusement.

Or rather, hunger, because that was the last way Ichigo had saw them.

"Hunger…for me." Ichigo remember. A shiver raced down his spine, and he leaned forward, head resting on the cool mirror. Images of their tongues rubbing together had him whimpering, breath fogging up the glass.

"Fuck!" He gasped.

He did everything to get those types of pictures out of his mind, from sleeping to watching television. Sleeping didn't work; it was actually worse because then, he imagined hands sliding over his body, fingers tangling tightly in his hair, and husky whispers ticking his ears.

Movies had seemed to do the trick, but his sisters ruined that, and the disturbing images came back with a vengeance.

Ichigo was immensely surprised _that man _hadn't seeked him out. Their parting words had not been pretty after Ichigo attacked with outrage; outrage mostly misplaced because truthfully, he had wanted to pummel himself.

Unconsciously, Ichigo's fingers slipped back over his neck. The tawny eyes staring back at him through his reflection were dazed, undeniably recalling deft digits palming his erection. He wanted to punch something all of a sudden, preferably a cocky, annoying redhead.

He blinked, realizing with irritation that after Orihime's party, he hadn't been patrolling Karakura.

"I haven't been trainin' either. Well, that's because my _usual_ sparrin' partner put the thought in his mind that gropin' and molestin' me was fine and dandy."

Despite his brooding, searching out a hollow to take his anger out on didn't sound half bad right about now.

"And if I see _him_, that's even better. I ain't finished with him yet. I'll have Zangetsu this time." That put a smirk on his face as his thoughts turned violent. "He'll see I wasn't bullshittin'."

Turning to go and dress, he noticed for the first time, that his bathroom door was open. It was odd because he'd positively recalled slamming it.

"Karin, is that you?" He called, scowling towards the open doorway.

That was when Ichigo felt it: _the presence of reiatsu_. But as soon as he sensed the energy, it was gone, leaving an empty space. It couldn't have been Rukia because she was at school—this reiatsu had been close, and plus, he knew her signature from familiarity.

Ichigo stalked to his room, prepared to chew the intruder out, but instead, was met with a firm chest.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no…"

"Yo, Strawberry, long time no see, eh?"

But the tattoos and widely grinning mouth gave no room for doubt. Ichigo belatedly recognized the obviously suppressed reiatsu.

Oh yes, he was fucked…

End of Chapter

So, yeah, I'm posting the sequel...I'm dead suprised you guys liked it...Okay, I'll admit it...I'M SO HAPPY! I thought, 'oh if I get 8 reviews, the story is okay, but I got 13 the last time I checked... Argh, this was so hard to get posted, I had stupid fuckin' band camp, and I've been so sleepy (sigh) but, I did it!

I was kinda worried 'bout the first one 'cause instead of giving Ichigo his chocolate brown eyes as of the anime, I wrote him with amberish eyes, 'cause that's how they look to me in the color pictures of the manga. It seemed not to matter, 'cause if it did, I would have changed it to brown in this story, oh well.

Yes, Ichigo uked-out in the first one, and maybe even the first and next chapter of this one, but I really want it to be RenjiIchigoRenji...I'll see...

So, this story is dedicated to drarythoughts (love you, girl. I'm tryin' to force her into the RenjiIchigo love...oh, it will happen ;P) and the chapter is dedicated to:

BonneNuit

**Never Freedom** (I'm honored, really...I love your stories, and for you to like mine, I'm on cloud nine)

yomynameisjess

hanabi857

djewellz

NeeChan92

XxMikiru Rei-chanxX

mischefmaker2003

AZjanus

Missbri88

Oreias

Izzy Yuki Hime

ketsuekilover

and those who added me to faves and stuff...

Looks like I have alot of expectations to fill...(sigh) What have I gotten myself into...psych, love you guys muchies!!


	2. Determination

_A__** Renji X Ichigo story**_

_**M **__for __**M**__an, RenjiIchigo is hawt!_

_**S**__et: I guess ya could say…um…after the Soul Society/Rukia retrieval arc, in some weird ass way. I watched a few Bount arc episodes though. (Heh, episode 60-something or so had me in hysterics when Ichigo tried to make Renji take off his gigai. That episode had me screaming 'Boy Love!'…in front of my little sister!) So, yeah and blend that up with a little of the Arrancar arc, and ya got my freaky little AU-ish setting._

_**D**isclaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of its characters, but damn it, I would chew off my left foot and shave my head for just one go at Renji! All those tattoos, yummy washboard abs and silky hair!!!! Whooo!!!!_

_**B**y: Midnight Kyuubi_

_**N**ote: This is my second RenjiIchigo fanfic, so I hope ya enjoy. It's a sequel *duh*, multi-chaptered 'cause surprisingly, you guys liked it…_

_**S**econd Note: I know I haven't updated in a while (an understatement), but I hope you guys are still behind me! Okay, just for the record, I **did** have the second chapter written but someone…(cough_Zane Makura_cough) had to open their big mouth up and I decided that this chapter could take an entirely different route, I like it this way two million times better anyway._

_So, thanks honey, this chapter goes out to you…and Ichigo says thanks a whole lot, 'cause the way I had written him at first had him at my throat…oh well…I'll shut up now, you guys have waited too long anyway…_

_**A**__fter that night_

**C**hapter two: Determination

He wasn't going to stutter, scream, or do anything that was going to humiliate him anymore than he was already.

"R-Renji!"

That was what Ichigo told himself, though his promise didn't keep the small tremble out of his voice. Before he could embarrass himself any further, anger overrode panic, and he jabbed the red-haired shinigami in the chest.

"Why the _fuck_ are you in my room?!"

Unfazed by the obviously pissed beyond comprehension teen, Renji stared at the finger prodded him, then at the owner of the offending digit. A tattooed brow rose in mock confusion and acute amusement.

"Hello back at ya." He replied. "I should be askin' ya the same thing. Why ain't I been seein' ya lately out on patrol?"

"I've been _busy._" Ichigo spat, trying to cover up his wavering resolve. _'I'm not gonna panic. I'm not gonna panic. I'm not_—_shit, who am I kiddin'. I'm panicking!'_

Renji rose an eyebrow, taking a look at his surroundings, and finding only the organized mess that was familiar in Ichigo's room.

'_I gotta sneakin' suspicion he's lyin'.'_

"Yeah?" He muttered. "It looks ta me like ya been hidin' out in 'ere."

Ichigo gulped, while struggling to string up another excuse.

"H-Hiding out? Why the hell would I be hiding _out_?!" The last word squeaked nervously, and Renji cocked his brow higher.

"Ya know, I been looking' for ya. Ya ain't been avoidin' me or somethin', eh?"

Ichigo tried to keep his heart rate steady as Renji turned the force of his crimson eyes on him. He couldn't help but wonder whatever happened to the loud, always ready-to-pick-a-fight Renji, and if he was ever going to come back.

Two muscular, tattoo garnished arms bridged themselves on either side of his head, voiding out any hopes of running away. Renji leaned in close, so close that his every breath fluttered the delicate fringe of lashes surrounding Ichigo's eyes.

Not even a moment later, he was uncomfortable, an uneasiness that brought an annoyance as well.

"Renji, what the hell do you think you're doin'?" Ichigo sighed. _'I'm sure as hell not takin' this shit without another fight.'_

Caramel eyes flickered to his door. Getting molested in _private_ was bad enough, but his sisters could just walk in—and he really didn't need that on his conscience.

"Look, Renji, I don't know what the hell you're playin' at, or if this is just a big ass joke to you, but what happened that night ain't gonna happen again."

The man tilted his redhead to the side in question.

"If ya talkin' bout beatin' my ass and leavin' it out on the street, yeah, it ain't gonna happen again."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. He didn't know for sure, but he prayed Renji wasn't being this idiotic on purpose—for both of their sakes.

"No, you crackhead! If you try to kiss me again, you'll be missin' one of your heads, and not the one on your neck." Ichigo snapped angrily.

Maybe a threat of that nature wasn't a very wise one to give with their history as of late. That lecherous grin Renji was giving him was seriously creeping the hell out of him, anyway.

"What are ya talkin' about?" Renji asked, feigning innocence. "Who said I was gonna try an' kiss ya again?"

"We both know you're thinkin' about it!"

"Yeah, but you're thinkin' about it too." Renji teased.

Ichigo scowled to the side, breaking the uneasy eye contact they shared. Losing focus didn't help, because his wayward eyes just fell on another silken part of Renji's body.

"I really wish you didn't hover over me like this." Ichigo muttered moodily.

"Why not?" Renji frowned, confused at the sudden mood change.

The substitute shinigami huffed, a pink tint shadowing his cheekbones. He bit his bottom lip softly, and Renji was drawn to the plump reddened flesh.

" 'Cause I don't—I can't—you keep confus—_argh_, this is so stupid!" Half broken thoughts only gave way to half formed words. The wanting to disappear had never felt so profound. Ichigo covered his burning face and used the other to push Renji away.

"Leave me alone, Renji. I'll come later, I just—I have things to do right now."

Renji grabbed both of his wrists and pulled him closer to his warm frame. The orange haired boy tried to yank his arms away, all the while struggling to keep his face blocked from Renji's view.

"Stop it, dammit!" Ichigo growled.

"You quit it, Ichigo. What's your problem?"

"You're my problem!"

"No, I'm not. You're makin' me a problem. I was honestly comin' ta see if ya hadn't fell in a hole or somethin'."

Ichigo huffed again, but wasn't fighting him anymore. Renji tugged at the hand veiling Ichigo's face.

"Look at me, stupid." Renji sighed.

"You can't make me."

Renji rolled his eyes, wondering not for the first time, why was he hopelessly attracted to the sixteen year old shinigami.

"What, are ya two years old?"

Ichigo ripped his hand off to spit an insult at the redhead, but instead was countered by soft lips. He wanted to pull away, honestly, but memories from their first kiss assaulted his brain and kept him rooted to the spot. Renji's confidence soared when Ichigo shut his eyes, parting his mouth with one hesitant movement. The taste of caramelized apples flooded his senses and sent him reeling for more.

Their lips fit perfectly, and with a small step from Renji, their bodies connected with the likes of two custom-made jigsaw pieces.

His tongue teased the moist inside of Ichigo's bottom lip, lingering there before venturing deeper to once explored territory. The orange haired teen arched his body into Renji's, vocalizing a small sound that could only be depicted as sexual.

Ichigo's moist back slapped against the wall with Renji following gladly. One of hands cupped the back of Ichigo's neck, fingers tangling in the feathery citrus-colored mess. Heavy gasps of breath mingled between their mouths as they fought to calm their heaving chests.

Before Ichigo could assemble the thoughts to even begin to consider stopping Renji in his assault of touches and kisses, the redhead grabbed his chin and melded their mouths again.

This time, kisses were charged with some fervor that Ichigo couldn't even figure out where to respond. Renji's mouth trailed to the side of his jaw, then to the length of his neck, somehow finding the fading bruise there and attaching his lips to it. Ichigo's heart sped. This was a side of Renji he'd never encountered.

His mouth was captured again, a low growl of hunger vibrating in his mouth.

"_Renji_…" He breathed shakily, and marveled at the weakness of his voice. Sanity was slipping as Renji became more insistent.

The older shinigami might have answered, but Ichigo couldn't tell with the way Renji was plundering him. He gasped in surprise when Renji grabbed his right leg, hitching it over his hip, leaving a distracting hand on his upper thigh.

A new meaning of _close_ was reached when their erections pressed together. Ichigo couldn't blink away the haze, remembering the weight of that very same hardness against the small of his back. He had ignored it that last night, but it was unavoidable, now pulsing in tandem with his.

"Renji-s-stop, I don't want to—"

Lean, strong hips rolled on his and he forgot what he was going to say. Physical contact like this was a foreign thing, but it was driving him crazy.

"Ichi-nii, there was a friend here to see you, but I can't find him. Is he in here with—you …"

Yuzu's chocolate brown eyes captured the scene in front of her as her brother's face lit a beyond vibrant shade of fuchsia. He shoved his _friend _off of him and fumbled to straighten the towel that was exposing him to obscenely indecent levels.

But, of course, it was too late.

She had already saw the compromising embrace, the way they grabbed and caressed one another, and the crazed, but embarrassingly enchanting look in Ichigo's eyes. He had been blissfully unaware the entire time.

Her gaze turned to the red-haired man, where he was licking his lips with lewd intentions in the stare currently fixed on Ichigo. He was unashamed, unrepentant, and absolutely unaffected by her presence.

Yuzu fought the urge to blink in disbelief. Her brother, _her _Ichi-nii was making out with this man!

'_What a situation to walk in on….'_

"…" Yuzu hesitated—there wasn't much to prepare for when you walked in on your brother in the process of getting physical with another man…

Despite that, Yuzu was a very practical young woman, and she always tried to make the best out of every scenario…being a scenario as bizarre and disconcerting as this.

"So—I—um…see your—ah—_friend_ found your room just fine on his own. You know, you could have told me and Karin that you were having company. We would have cleaned and…um…other stuff…" She rambled on cutely, silently hinting for Ichigo to tell her just what the hell was going on.

When Ichigo finally returned to the land of the living, or not-so-living-in Renji's case, he steeled a furious glare on the red-haired shinigami.

"You went through the front door and talked to my sisters?!" He nearly screeched, attention temporarily diverted form the more pressing issue at hand.

Renji shrugged, brushing away a long fringe of thick scarlet hair from his eye. Yuzu mentally squealed.

'_Even though it looks like I'm gonna have to kill him for molesting my Ichi-nii, you can't fight the fact that he is __**hot**__!'_

"Wait, your sister just caught us together, an' you're worried 'bout how I came in?" Renji asked in confusion.

"Hell yeah, who knows who coulda saw your tattooed ass! And plus, who says I want my sisters exposed to you?!" Ichigo snapped. Anger was much more comforting than the blinding embarrassment he felt, and he kept a steadfast hold.

"What are ya tryin' ta say? That I'm gonna scar them or somethin'?" Renji responded to the anger in Ichigo's voice and found that he couldn't get genuinely angry, not with the way Ichigo's amber eyes lit up tantalizingly, or the way he got all up in his face to yell that mouthwatering apple-flavored scent his direction.

Yuzu stared at the duo in barely contained awe—they looked _so good_ together, even screaming in each other's faces.

'_Wait until I tell Karin-chan!'_ The auburn haired girl sighed dreamily.

"You already did, dumbfuck!" Ichigo ground his teeth together in a burst of ire—he was going to end up killing Renji someday. "How am I supposed to face Yuzu now that she saw us…us…doin' that?!"

"Well, it ain't like she left, ya genius." Renji drawled lazily, jerking his head in Yuzu's direction. He turned his oddly mischievous and amused garnet eyes on her.

"Hey Yu-chan, can ya face your brother in th' light a' what just happened?"

Yuzu swallowed a meep—he was way too intimidating, turning her small bones in jelly.

"You see, dumbass, now she won't talk!"

Renji bristled defensively. "Well, I didn't break her!"

"My sister isn't a fucking toy. She doesn't break or run out of batteries. You freaked her out!"

"Stop yellin' so much, you're gonna pop a fuckin' vein!"

"As if you're any better, Mr. I-have-freaky-tattoos-therefore-I'ma-intimidate- everyone-I-meet!"

"What th' fuck does this have ta do with my tattoos?"

"I don't know!" Ichigo yelled, huffing as he caught his breath. Renji knew the force of Ichigo's scowl could have scalded him in any other situation, but right now, he'd never been more turned on in his life.

As if it couldn't get any more frustrating, Karin ambled in with her headphones resting under her chin.

"What the hell's up with all of the screaming?" She asked boredly, not even bothering to comment on her brother's inadequate clothing state.

Ichigo visibly deflated, both palms coming up to smack himself in the face.

"This type of shit _only _happens to me…"

The felling of outright unfairness radiated from the room to Ichigo. Renji always came in and made the simplest things in his life so fucked to the point where he didn't know what to expect anymore.

A venomous eye peeked up at Renji and for some reason—maybe all of the molestation—combined with all of his confusion and humiliation, he never wanted to punch anyone as much as he wanted to hit Renji.

"I hope I break your damn nose!"

Ichigo swing out sloppily in searing anger, and Renji caught his fist in his hand.

"Hell no, Ichigo, not that again! I swear if ya try that again, I'll…I'll…"

Renji's eyes crossed in agonizing pain, before focusing on Ichigo's knee, nestled quite nicely between his legs.

"Ouch…" The Kurosaki sisters winced in unison.

"Ha! Take that, and I hope you can't even get it up anymore!"

In the middle of Ichigo's victory cry, Renji slumped to the carpeted floor—though not before taking Ichigo's carelessly wrapped towel with him.

As the sisters averted their eyes with giggles threatening to spill, Ichigo hastily covered himself up again, slapped his palm into his face, crumpling to the floor in a heap of nearly nude mortification.

"I have a feeling I missed a lot of good stuff while I was downstairs." Karin whispered to her sister as they made a silent getaway.

"Oh, Karin-chan, you have absolutely _no_ idea." She grinned, linking her arms with her. Suddenly, within the matter of five minutes, her life had meaning…

She was going to set her brother up with that gorgeous red-haired stranger.

*****************************

"Rukia-chan, I'm not sure if anyone else noticed, but Ichigo-kun isn't here today." Orihime commented, the cold air of the afternoon sending a puff of steam from her reddened mouth.

The petite raven-haired shinigami nodded, reaching up to tighten Orihime's scarf around her neck.

"No, I noticed. He didn't get up until after I left the house this morning." Her indigo eyes widened slightly. "Now that I mention it, he'd been up all night, tossing and turning."

Before they crossed the street, Tatsuki came up behind them, throwing a warm arm around Orihime's waist.

"Ya know, Tattooey wasn't at school either. I've been waiting for him so that I can beat his ass for that weird shit he pulled at your party."

"Why was he tossing and turning?" Orihime asked curiously, as she always was when something was wrong with the moody carrot-haired teen.

Rukia flushed darkly, and buried her mouth in her thick scarf. Tatsuki arched a brow, becoming curious as well.

"Err—nothing serious. I think he could have been having a bad dream."

"Don't get me wrong, but this dream wasn't the normal boogeyman—I'm-afraid-of-the-dark type of dream, right?"

"Ah, not quite…" Rukia mumbled, looking straight forward and holding her books tighter to her body.

"Then what kind?" The big-chested girl chirped.

Rukia glanced quickly at her friends and met morbidly interested almond and onyx eyes. She sighed heavily, flush spreading more.

'_Why couldn't I just keep my big mouth shut…?'_

"Oh, alright!" She frowned at Orihime's innocent brown eyes. "But cover Orihime-chan's ears first!"

_********Last Night********_

_Rukia sat hunkered down in her_—_err_—_Ichigo's closet, jamming multiple buttons on her handheld game. It wasn't like she was hiding, but she preferred the tight space of the closet and only pretended to sleep in the guest room the Kurosakis provided for her._

_She hissed a silent yell of victory as she beat the level that had been taking forever to defeat, and promptly slapped her hand over her mouth. A loud mumble of annoyance came from Ichigo's room, and she wondered if he had somehow heard her._

_One of her small shoulders shrugged when nothing else followed the sound, and she sat back to trying to defeat the boss level of her game._

_As Rukia relaxed again, another noise floated from Ichigo's room, but this time, it was different from the last. This one seemed lighter, with a more breathless nature of the sort._

_Rukia looked up slowly, and turned the already low sound of the game down, fixing a confused stare at Ichigo's door._

"_Aaah…" Came another gasp, not very loud to call attention to anyone but herself, but profound enough in the silence of the night._

_Rukia clicked her game off after saving it, and cracked open the door. She waited as her eyes adjusted to the lone shine of the moon, and folded her slight body in a crouch._

"_Hnnn…nnn…"_

_The blood in her face erupted, finally realizing what was happening to her ill-tempered best friend._

_He was having one of __**those**__ dreams…_

_She mentally smacked herself in the head, wondering how could she forget that Ichigo was still a hormonal teenage boy, no matter how strong of a shinigami he was. He was still privy to the enticing images night brought him._

'_Even though I've never saw him even remotely interested in any girls…'_

_He whimpered again, and she saw his shape tossing restlessly on his bed. Rukia didn't know what possessed her, but she was up, tiptoeing until she was next to the side of the bed. What she saw was a sight that even porn stars wished to aspire to._

_Ichigo was flat on his back, sweat-darkened citrus-colored bangs scattered across his flushed face. White teeth were sunk into his bottom lip and the small knot in his forehead was contorting his face in the most attractive way. The firm muscles in his arms and washboard abs were twitching as Ichigo clenched his sheets into tight fists._

_Rukia knew that if she hadn't wanted Ichigo any more than a brother, she would have jumped him in his sleep with no regrets._

"…_H-harder…" He purred in his sleep. Rukia hoped he was asleep anyway, because the sliver of dark caramel under his thick lashes were unfocused, staring listlessly into the dark room._

_Rukia heard her brother's stoic voice in her head, telling her to turn around and walk away, that it wasn't befit for a Kuchiki to watch Ichigo_—_of all people_—_writhing under the spell of some nocturnal fantasy. But she scoffed at him, knowing that even his frigid ass would be drooling, being if he possessed the emotional capacity to even get turned on._

_She shook that disturbing thought from mind and decided that maybe she should leave before something bad occurred._

_The substitute shinigami freed one hand slowly, as if he was being manipulated, and dragged it across the smooth skin of his chest to rest dangerously close to the tent of sheets her eyes chose too salacious to notice._

"_Ngh…n-not there…" His back rose slightly as he shuddered softly, reaching to grab_—

_Rukia slammed the door to the guest room haven, heat in her face burning throughout her tiny frame. She dove into the covers of the bed there, and shoved a pillow over her face._

"_I'm not gonna ever sleep in there again until I think it's safe…" She grumbled, wishing she'd remembered to snag her handheld before her quick escape._

_And damn, were these walls thin!_

_A throaty moan reached her through the wallpaper, and she smothered herself harder._

_She just hoped he was going to clean those sheets himself._

_**********************_

Tatsuki's red face stared in disbelief, never once slacking her grip on Orihime's ears.

"Are you fucking telling me that _Ichigo, _our _Ichigo _was having a _wet dream_ last night?!"

"Shh, don't tell the whole world!" Rukia hissed, jabbing a small finger towards Orihime.

"But that's just…just—"

"Unbelievably downright sexy!!" A voice screeched from behind the three girls. They all turned towards their classmate Chizuru, who was wiping the blood from her blushing face.

"That's just nosebleed worthy! Did you take pictures, Kuchiki-chan?!"

"No, she didn't take pictures, you degenerate fool. Where the hell did you come from?!" Tatsuki growled, still holding Orihime's ears.

"I was just minding my business, walking home, when I heard your porntastic story!" They flinched as the lesbian's glasses glinted eerily. Rukia rolled her eyes.

"Liar, your house is in the opposite direction. You're coming to harass Orihime-chan."

"That's not the point here! Oh, I could just envision Kurosaki-kun's ever-scowling face fixed in a ravishingly sultry gaze, head tossing back as he slowly pleasured himself, the name of his dream lover being breathed from his moist lips. Oh, it's just too much!" She squealed happily.

"_Would you just stop it?!_" The two dark-haired girls cried in unison, hands moving to clutch their bleeding noses. The auburn-haired teen tilted her head to the side, frowning at her two friends.

"Did you say something to them, Chizuru-chan?"

"No, my love, not anything they weren't going to tell themselves in their fantasies."

"I think it's fine time for you to run into an intersection of speeding 18-wheelers now!" Tatsuki spat, tearing the spectacled brunette from Orihime and dragging her the opposite way in a headlock.

"See ya."

"Just think about it! Ichigo's dream, that other night, and the redhead and him not being at school today. I bet they're somewhere having wild sex!"

"Shut up and stop saying things like that!"

"Let me go! I must find them and take pictures, let me gooooo!!"

The agonized yell carried behind the two retreating girls down the crowded street, stares with them. Rukia rubbed her temple, fighting to chase _that_ troubling thought away. She sighed and glanced at Orihime, who was staring off into the distance.

"Something wrong, Orihime-chan?"

"Do you feel that?" The innocent but very spirit sensitive girl asked, a uncharacteristically contemplative look on her face.

"Feel what?" Rukia tensed, preparing to go shinigami at any moment.

"Abarai-kun's reiatsu. It's coming from Ichigo-kun's house." Her eyes shut in concentration. "In his room, I think."

Images from Chizuru's tasteful rant assaulted Rukia's mind

'_If that girl is right…' _She thought nervously.

"H-how about I take you home first, Orihime-chan? I'll get to the bottom of it myself."

Orihime nodded, letting Rukia take her hand. Her narrowed chestnut-shaded eyes never left that direction, other hand coming up to touch her pink rhinestone flowered necklace.

'_If that girl __**is **__right…'_

_**********************************_

Renji grumbled groggily as he sat up. A dull aching pain from his groin throbbed and he gave up, choosing to slump back down into the feathery pillows cushioned underneath him.

"Damn, I can't fuckin' believe he kicked me in th' balls." Renji muttered. He threw a careless arm over his eyes and sighed.

"Yeah, I know." A bored voice came from above him. "I never saw Ichi-nii kick someone as hard as he did you."

The redhead cracked open a crimson eye to stare at the girl sitting next to the bed. His gaze landed on the small scowl on her face, and he shut his eyes again, deeming her looks _way_ too close to his orange-haired crush.

"Yeah?" He muttered. "Where is he, anyway?"

"Not in here, we had to send him away before he did unethical things to your prone body."

Renji smirked, finally noticing the scent on the bed belonging to the substitute shinigami. Before his mind could run rampant with the usual X-rated thoughts Ichigo's smell always did to him, Karin poked at his cheek.

"What?"

"So, what's your relationship with my brother, anyway? Yuzu told me you were trying to seal every part of your body to his against the wall over there, but I wanted to hear it from you in person."

Renji's cheeks heated up lightly and Karin grinned, leaning in closer.

"Are you his boyfriend?"

"Not quite." Renji mumbled. '_Or yet, but she doesn't need to know all of that.'_ He silently added.

"Then you guys are friends with benefits?"

'_I wish…'_

Karin frowned when the older man glared, looking off to the side. Then, a slow light shined as she noted that with her brother's pissed reaction from earlier.

"Wait." She said, piecing the puzzle together one by one. "My brother doesn't know you obviously like him, and he's responding to you because he doesn't know how to tell you no."

Renji shot up, eyebrows high as he stared at her in awe.

"Hold up, who said I _liked_ your brother?"

Karin shrugged. "You didn't need to. It's pretty obvious whenever someone talks about him. You get that hungry look in your eyes like you want to tear his clothes off or something."

"Perceptive." Renji grumbled, with a small blush on his face. "But how do ya know he wants ta tell me no?"

"That's the problem. From what Yuzu told me, he wants you just as much as you want him—" She recalled the so-called _hungry _look. "—well, maybe not _that_ much, but I bet if you jump him a couple of more times, he would."

"Ya think?" Renji asked, looking thoughtful and delightfully pleased at the same time. "What could I do ta make him feel that way 'bout me?"

"Err—now that I think about it, maybe jumping him isn't such a good idea. My brother likes to beat himself up a lot, and if I'm right, he was moping today about you."

"But he's so fuckin' dense sometimes. He doesn't even know how damn attractive he is, or that Inoue-san has th' hots for 'im." Renji growled.

"I wish he could see th' effect he has on people, th' fuckin' idiot." He muttered affectionately.

"I agree with you on the dense part, a rock doesn't have anything on my Ichi-nii."

They grinned at each other, and Renji couldn't help but feel the hint of an alliance near.

"But why don't you just let him come to you. You have an effect on him too, you know." Karin stated, flushing at his intense dark cherry eyes and handsome face.

"Think he would?"

"I've known him all of my life, and if there's one thing I know about Ichigo, is that he doesn't like to leave anything unfinished."

"Yeah." He agreed. That was Ichigo all the way, even battle-wise.

"I like you." Karin grinned, sitting up straight in her chair. "But if you hurt my brother, or have him an awful mess like these last few days, me and my sister will hunt you down."

Renji chuckled, not bothering to mention that he was a shinigami vice-captain and that it was probably useless to try and hurt him, but he understood the threat completely.

"Now, I think you should leave before Ichigo comes back and sees you still here."

"Right." He muttered, quickly capturing the many loose strands of hair in his face, and tightening them back in his usual high ponytail.

"Thank, shorty, I'll remember your advice when I try next time." He moved towards the door, obviously headed for the front door again.

"Err—" Karin hesitated. "I wouldn't go that way if I were you."

'Why not? My shoes are down there."

"Not anymore, I brought them up here. Ichigo's down there, and I think he'll try to kill you again."

"Yeah…you're right. I'll just go outta the window. Thanks again."

He grabbed his shoes and bounded out of the window with inhuman grace, making Karin wonder who the hell he was again. She shook her head in disbelief.

"I just gave another man advice on how to woo my brother…"

After a moment of thought, she shrugged, turning on her music and pulling up her earphones again.

'_Oh well, Ichi-nii needs to get laid anyway. I did my two good deeds for the day.'_

Karin walked out of his room, head bobbing to the loud music, before stopping in mild disgust.

"Time to pretend I didn't even remotely show concern for my brother's sex life. Eww…"

****~~~~~~~****

Special Thanks to---

**Never Freedom **(I took your advice a little too seriously...thank for reviewin'! And absolutely love your stories too!), **Missbri88 **(Love readin' your reviews, you're so cute!!!), Izzy Yuki Hime, djewellz, **Mithras151, BonneNuit **(Thank you, sex muffin!!! I try really hard to please ya'll, and it means alot!!) , Afrieal, NeeChan92, **hanabi857** (Your reviews entance me, my love. Thank you so much for likin' my story!)**, **nejiluvr:P, **AZjanus** (Thank you, I just write like I'm speaking to ya'll, nothin' special!! Love you!!!)**, Lyra of the Fallen **(Comments on my writtin' style are the best, and I love you for lovin' my story!!)**, ** Anger House, **hiddenyaoilover527 **(Hellz yeah, honey! A Renji plush for you!!!), MissTaken, Calcium FIST, Thy Bird of Hermes (God, don't bite me. Here you go!!), **Pickle Reviver, xXSilver0BladesXx** (Thank you, boo. I try my best!), **AgonizingBordem **(Aww...I love you too!!! Cookie Kisses!!!)

Thank you for being patient! I'm deaf in my left ear for the time being, so don't let that keep you from writtin' me a big juicy review (the ones in bold), cause those are the best...next to Ren's tattoos of course!!!

Love ya'll!!! MK


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